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This white queso is easily my all-time favorite dip—and for good reason. I’ve always loved a good queso blanco, but once I learned how to make it at home, this quickly became the recipe I’ve made more times than I can count. It’s everything queso should be: perfectly gooey, ultra-creamy, and packed with rich, irresistible flavor. It comes together quickly, stays smooth (not grainy or clumpy!), and works for everything from game day to weeknight snacking. And I’m so proud that over 3,000 home cooks agree, giving this queso dip a glowing 5-star rating!
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“This recipe was such a huge hit with my family. I would attach a picture, but as soon as I made it. They devoured it lol!” -Sara
Easy Queso Dip Recipe
This super popular homemade white queso dip has been a favorite at my house for years and years. I love to make it for Cinco de Mayo, eat it with tacos on Taco Tuesday, and serve it up for the ultimate game day celebration, Super Bowl Sunday, or any time we need football snacks. If we are celebrating, I am making this queso dip recipe!
If you’ve shied away from making queso dip at home, let me tell you this recipe is easy and delivers a restaurant-quality dip that will disappear in no time at all. Yes, you do need to be on top of it, as it does require constant stirring, but the result is so worth it. What you get is creamy, drool-worthy cheesy goodness that you can easily change up based on what you’ve got on hand.
Tips for Beginners
- Do not boil. Lower the heat just as the mixture begins to boil. Boiling or overheating may produce a grainy texture.
- Use freshly grated cheese. Store-bought grated cheese is coated so it won’t melt as well as freshly grated.
- Cornstarch is optional. If you prefer not to have a super thick consistency, you can omit the cornstarch.
- If the dip is too thick. Gradually add milk until you get your desired consistency.
- Stir constantly. While the cheese is melting, stir constantly to ensure a smooth, creamy queso. Note that queso thickens as it cools.
- Make it in a slow cooker. We have step-by-step Crockpot instructions in the recipe card as well.
White Queso Dip Recipe
Ingredients
Cheese Dip
- 12 oz. evaporated milk (1 can)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- ¾ lb. white American cheese
- 4 oz. freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
Seasonings
- 2 tbsp chopped canned jalapeños or chopped green chiles
- 1 tsp chili powder or cumin
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg optional
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Toppings
- chopped fresh cilantro, tomatoes, and jalapeños for garnish
Video
Instructions
- Heat evaporated milk over medium-high heat in a small saucepan. Stir in the cornstarch and whisk to combine.1 tbsp cornstarch
- Once simmering (bring it to just before boil—when it starts bubbling up the sides, it's ready), immediately reduce heat to low.
- Immediately stir in the cheese in batches, starting with the white American cheese. As you stir in the cheese, increase the heat to medium/low and whisk CONSTANTLY while the cheese melts. Once each batch is melted and creamy, add more. Don't stop stirring—you have to whisk the entire time while adding cheese.¾ lb. white American cheese
- Once done with the white American cheese, add in the shredded mozzarella. Again, whisk CONSTANTLY while the cheese melts, ensuring you have a creamy blend. If you prefer the cheese a bit thicker, add a bit more mozzarella.4 oz. freshly shredded mozzarella cheese
- Once all the cheese is melted, stir in the jalapeños, chili powder, nutmeg, red pepper, and salt and pepper.2 tbsp chopped canned jalapeños, 1 tsp chili powder, ½ tsp ground nutmeg, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, ¼ tsp kosher salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- (Optional) If you want the queso to be a bit browned (as pictured), pour the queso into a skillet and place in the oven. Broil for 3-4 minutes, or until cheese begins to bubble and brown.
- Top with cilantro, tomatoes, and more jalapeños if desired.chopped fresh cilantro, tomatoes, and jalapeños
- Serve with tortilla chips and enjoy!
Becky’s Tips
- Set the slow cooker to HIGH and add in the evaporated milk/cornstarch and all of the cheese.
- Cover and let the cheese fully melt, stirring regularly.
- Once melted, switch the cooker to LOW and stir in any additional ingredients and spices.
- Keep it in the slow cooker while serving (great option for parties) on warm, and be sure to stir it occasionally.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment!
How to Make Homemade Queso Step by Step
Gather all your ingredients together.
Heat the milk: Over medium-high heat, heat 1 can of evaporated milk in a small saucepan. Stir in 1 tbsp of cornstarch and whisk to combine.
Melt the white American cheese: Once the milk begins simmering, bring it to just before a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Immediately stir in ¾ lb. of white American cheese in batches. As I stir in the cheese, I increase the heat to medium/low and whisk CONSTANTLY as the cheese melts. Once each batch is melted and creamy, add more. I don’t stop stirring, I whisk the entire time while adding cheese.
Add the mozzarella: Add 4 oz. of freshly shredded mozzarella cheese and whisk CONSTANTLY while it melts, ensuring you have a creamy blend. If you prefer the cheese thicker, add a bit more mozzarella.
Season the queso: Once all the cheese is melted, add 2 tbsp of chopped canned jalapeños, 1 tsp of chili powder, ½ tsp of ground nutmeg, 1 tsp of red pepper flakes, ¼ tsp of kosher salt, and ¼ tsp of ground black pepper. Note, these are optional, but I like a little heat!
(Optional) Broil: I like to brown the queso, so I pour it into a skillet and place it in the oven. I broil for 3-4 minutes, or until the cheese begins to bubble and turn brown.
Garnish and serve: Top with cilantro, tomatoes, and more jalapeños if desired. Serve with tortilla chips, and enjoy!
Cheese and Seasoning Variations
- Cheese: Instead of mozzarella, use Monterey Jack, extra sharp cheddar, provolone, white cheddar, or Muenster.
- Chiles: Add more or less depending on your spice preference or substitute with whatever chiles you have on hand.
- Spices: Some readers don’t like cumin and nutmeg, so feel free to skip or change the spices as you see fit. If you’re not sure, add a pinch at a time, and make sure you like it before adding the full amount. If you prefer just the cheesy taste, leave them out.
- Add-ins: I love to mix in chorizo, taco meat, or ground beef, or even rotisserie or shredded chicken (these ingredients should all be fully cooked first).
How to Store
If I have leftover cheese dip, I pour it into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To reheat it, add a splash of milk and heat it in the microwave in 15-30 second increments, stirring in between to make sure it’s fully heated through.
Serving Suggestions
This white queso is made for dipping tortilla chips, homemade or store-bought. But I don’t stop at dipping because this queso works as a sauce for chicken enchiladas or baked tacos. I’ve even poured it over chicken quesadillas and chicken nachos. The possibilities are endless. My fridge is never without a batch of this white queso ready to go at any moment.
I have been looking for a recipe like this one.
“Real cheese” is a bit of a stretch when talking about American cheese, and generally you should cook over a double boiler else you’ll burn it, which is what I should have done and maybe I wouldn’t have made burnt and curdled thickened oil
Just had white queso for the first time at our local Mexican restaurant and LOVED it. My family eats a lot of Mexican food so I thought I would try out a recipe! This was almost exactly like the one at the restaurant and my family couldn’t get enough of it. Was worried about the spice so we used green chilis instead of jalapenos and it was not spicy at all. Can’t tolerate spicy foods so this was perfect
So glad everyone loved it!
Great idea to use mozzarella. Worked great. I used regular (whole) milk with corn starch, added mozzarella and cheddar and chopped jalapeรฑos with some of the water from the can of jalapeรฑos to thin it. That’s it, and that’s all that was needed. Perfect. Only giving the recipe three stars because the only ingredients I used from it were corn starch, jalapeรฑos & mozzarella, so I can’t rate the original recipe. If I were to rate my version, it would be 5 stars. My husband said it was better than what you can get in restaurants!
Iโm going to try your recipe because I love cheddar cheese
I am so disappointed. I made this recipe and it tasted like nothing. Not cheesy at all! So bland. I think the cornstarch was not a great idea. And after that there was nothing I could do to salvage it.
I made this recently. It seemed bland and lacked that irrestible flavor you get from a mexican restaurant queso. I believe it went downhill with the corn starch. I made the corn starch into a slurry with water, as others suggested, and reduced the amount to 1 tsp. It got really thick. I’d like to try it again with no corn starch.
Hi Jay, as per our notes: If you prefer a thinner consistency, skip the cornstarch at the startโ but keep it on hand in case you need to thicken it later.
This recipe came out really disappointing, no flavor and the texture was too grainy even with keeping the temp really lowโฆ. Not sure what happened here!
Hi Erin, did you use freshly-grated cheeses? That’s really important for keeping graininess down as well. Otherwise, we suspect that the heat was still a bit too high, even if your stove was set to low!
Genuinely killer stuff but I think it comes out way too thick with corn starch added, its already pretty thick without it anyway so I leave it out
Would I use 2 tbs of green chilies instead of 2tbs jalapeรฑos?
Absolutely!
Hello. I just made the dish, and Iโm thinking I might have took too long adding in the cheese and itโs very think. Iโm keeping warm in a crockpot. What can I do to get more liquid consistency? Thank you
Hi Anthony, if the queso is too thick, gradually stir in some milk until it reaches the desired consistency!